Nearly 1,000 Syracuse grads have been helped with tuition by Say Yes to Education program

Morganne M. Atutis / The Post-StandardThandekah Duncil, a student tutor from Syracuse University in the Say Yes to Education program, helps Latara Williams, a ninth grade student at Nottingham High School, last week. Dancil, 18, who just finished her freshman year at SU, said she might have opted for a community college if it weren't for the free tuition from the Say Yes to Education program. Dancil, a 2010 Henninger High School graduate, said she has been on her own since she was 17 years old.

Syracuse, NY -- Nearly a thousand Syracuse high school graduates have had their SUNY tuition covered over the last two years, thanks to Say Yes to Education and its partners. Almost 200 more graduates attended private schools tuition-free through the program.

Amber Jackson is one of them. Jackson, 20, is a Nottingham High School grad who just finished her sophomore year at Hobart and William Smith Colleges tuition-free because Hobart is a member of the “Say Yes Higher Education Compact.”

Jackson graduated ninth in her class with a 98 average, but going into her senior year she doubted she’d be going to college. Her single, working mom just couldn’t swing it.

Then her mother, Janet, read about Say Yes in the newspaper.

Say Yes pledged to provide college tuition for almost every city grad. Jackson thought it was a joke. Neither she nor classmates believed it. When it turned out to be true, it changed Jackson’s future.

“Changed where I applied to, changed my attitude about college, changed my attitude about attending,” she said. “It honestly was just like a wave of hope through the entire school, not just for me.”

Say Yes pledges to secure college tuition for every graduate who lives in Syracuse and attended 10th, 11th and 12th grade in a Syracuse high school. For SUNY schools, it does that by making sure the student receives all available financial aid and then fills the gap with a scholarship.

The Say Yes scholarship fund has paid out $1.3 million for 964 SUNY students.

Say Yes and its partners are building an endowment to keep the scholarships flowing. They have raised $8 million toward a goal of $20 million, said Mary Anne Schmitt-Carey, the non-profit group’s president.

The Central New York Community Foundation oversees the scholarship and endowment funds, which consist almost entirely of private donations. The foundation and Syracuse University, a major Say Yes partner, just hired a development director to raise money.

Onondaga County added $550,000 from a $3 million pot it agreed to give to community groups when it settled lawsuits with the city over the Onondaga Lake cleanup.

The scholarships go primarily to SUNY-bound students. But Say Yes created a network of private college and universities, the compact schools, where tuition is covered for Syracuse grads whose family income is less than $75,000 a year.

SU is one of the two private schools in the network that does not impose an income limit. The other is Cooper Union in New York City. Families with an income above $75,000 can apply for a Say Yes “Choice” grant of up to $5,000 to use at one of the private schools.

The vast majority of the 197 city graduates who have enrolled in 17 private institutions have their full tuition paid, said Christopher Walsh, director of the Say Yes higher education program. SU, which enrolled 81 of the 197, has by far the most Say Yes kids.

Thandekah Dancil, 18, who just finished her freshman year at SU, said she might have opted for a community college if it weren’t for the free tuition.

Dancil, a 2010 Henninger High School graduate, said she has been on her own since she was 17 years old. The tuition pledge gives city kids a path out of poverty, she said.

“It means a lot because a lot of people here don’t have the money,” she said. “Like, nobody has the money, so it gives us a chance to succeed. Because other than school, what could you really do coming from Syracuse?”

The scholarship fund has taken in about $3.5 million in donations and now consists of $2 million in gifts and pledges. The first donation of roughly $400,000 came from SU’s trustees in 2009, said Peter Dunn, Community Foundation president and chief executive officer.

“I think the community should be incredibly encouraged that during one of the greatest recessions in our entire history that $3.5 million have been contributed to the scholarship fund,” Dunn said.

The foundation itself is backing the effort. In 2008, it donated $1 million to the Say Yes scholarship fund, its largest donation ever. The Say Yes to Education Foundation followed up in 2009 with a $1 million donation.